Great Expectations Analysis

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Amy Collins

Great Expectations

Using the three extracts you have studied, examine the effect various characters have on Pip, and their effect on the reader.

Having perused Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, I intend to analyse various extracts form the novel. I strive to discuss the attributes of three significant characters, describe how and why their behaviour differs form one another, and examine their overall effect on Pip, the protagonist. The individuals I shall be scrutinising are: Magwitch, an absconded convict; Miss Havisham, an affluent elitist who was callously abandoned at the altar; and Wemmick, a nonconformist lawyer’s clerk.

Great Expectations was originally published in serialized form in a periodical entitled ‘The Strand’. The highly commended narrative tracks the existence of Phillip Pirrip, also known as Pip, from his lower-class Victorian upbringing through to later life as a refined gentleman, with him encountering ample predicaments along the way.

Dickens composed many acclaimed titles in the late 1800s including Oliver Twist, Bleak House and A Christmas Carol. The majority of his works highlighted the adversity, suffering and destitution that the Victorian youth were forced to endure. This meticulously resembles Dickens’ own poignant childhood, during which his father was imprisoned for failing to disburse taxes. Dickens felt morally obliged to inform the general population of the hardship, anguish and desolation that was tolerated by plebeian citizens, predominantly the younger generation.

During the first extract we are introduced to Pip, through his own reflective narration, who is visiting the gravestones of his parents and brothers in a secluded cemetery within the Kent marshes. Before readers are acquainted with the protagonist, Dickens evokes sympathy towards Pip by immediately informing the reader of his heartrending past. The phrase

     ‘…I never saw my father or my mother…’

kindles an empathy of pity for Pip because he has dealt with an overwhelming amount of grief at such a tender age. As I read this particular passage, I suspected that Pip is an extremely strong-willed character for coping so well under such tragic circumstances. Furthermore, I felt remorseful regarding Pip’s despondent background due to the fact that he grew up with no main authoritative figure. On the other hand, Victorian readers may not necessarily have the same sentiments. History reveals that, during this era, there were countless other young children in similar predicaments, therefore they would have classified Pip’s scenario as conventional. Dickens has skilfully crafted his writing with the intention of reciprocating a sense of compassion, which can be developed in subsequent events.

An additional skill which Dickens successfully employs is the use of pathetic fallacy. Readers gain the impression that the weather and surroundings are an inauspicious reflection of the events that may soon transpire when Pip describes the churchyard as a

     ‘bleak place overgrown with nettles’.

Due to the sombre narrative tone, readers recognise that there is a strong probability of a detrimental incident occurring. As a result of this, the audience will be captivated in anticipation of a culmination of portentous events. Moreover, the dreary repetition of ‘dead and buried’ combined with monotonous adjectives such as ‘dark’ and ‘low leaden’ have implications which further compound Pip’s desperate situation. This, likewise, further intensifies readers’ sympathy for Pip.

A startling turning point befalls when an escaped convict emerges enigmatically. Instantaneously, a sense of antipathy towards the felon is aroused as he commands Pip to

     ‘Hold your noise!’

Readers will agonise over Pip’s welfare as he is besieged by a baleful antagonist. The juxtaposition of this compelling phrase transforms the atmosphere of the scene; it converts the tone from austere and hopeless to pugnacious and frenzied. The extreme altercation also marks an extraordinary turning point in Pip’s life; from this point onwards, Magwitch is indebted to the protagonist. Dickens’ competent use of an exclamation mark emphasizes the trepidation in Magwitch’s voice, accentuating Pip’s vulnerability. Personally, my first impression of Magwitch was that he was a militant menace who posed an ominous threat to defenceless young Pip.

In contrast to this, my personal sentiments towards Magwitch were substantially altered as I read Pip’s rhapsodic account of the convict. Instead of regarding him as a sadistic, malevolent fiend, I began to feel compassion for this prospective adversary through Dickens’ adept depiction. The representation is saturated with negative passive verbs such as:

     ‘…broken shoes…been soaked in water…smothered in mud and lamed by stones and cut by flints and stung by nettles and torn by briars’.

The detail in the portrayal conjures a pitiful image in readers’ minds, formulating sympathy towards Magwitch, therefore we find him more endearing. As a consequence of this, the reader comprehends that he may not be quite as threatening as we primarily judged, subsequently alleviating our anxiety. Moreover, Dickens adds layers of effect through reiteration of the lexical item ‘and’, increasing the depth of Pip’s turbulent state of affairs. In addition to this, Dickens has proficiently inserted numerous commas before ‘and’ in order to construct intentional punctuation errors. These deliberate inaccuracies are positioned where a child would draw breath. Consequently, the readers can put themselves into Pip’s shoes and envisage his frame of mind, thus empathising profoundly with him. Also, Dickens ambiguously characterizes Magwitch as

     ‘a fearful man’.

The term ‘fearful’ is abstruse as it may be interpreted as though Magwitch is someone to be feared or that the convict himself is full of fear at the harrowing situation. Due to the inconclusive expression, readers may be perplexed and unsure of Magwitch’s emotions. Contrariwise, one aspect that is undisputable is Pip’s timorousness. Magwitch’s aggressive actions intimidate the young child, building on the readers’ empathy towards him.

Moreover, a sense of urgency and hysteria is generated when Pip and Magwitch converse in staccato sentences. This may unnerve the reader and leave them in a state of consternation. The severity of the dialogue is conveyed with the phrases

     ‘Tell us your name!’ and

     ‘Pip, sir.’

Although Pip is excessively terrified of the convict, he remains immoderately polite, consistently addressing Magwitch as ‘sir’. Contemporary readers may be taken aback at the fact that the Victorian youth displayed this amount of respect for their elders when in such pressurised scenarios. Furthermore, Dickens has illustrated that Pip remains vulnerable and inferior to Magwitch throughout the scene through use of phrases such as

     ‘I pleaded in terror’ and

     ‘…to keep myself from crying’

Consequently, this strengthens readers’ ability to empathize with the protagonist.

 

In addition, the convict attempts to emotionally blackmail Pip and deploy his fear. Magwitch manipulates Pip’s anxiety and fabricates a ‘young man’ to coerce whim into obtaining him

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     ‘a file’ and

     ‘wittles’.

The adult reader may deduce that Magwitch is unaccompanied, yet the hypothetical character petrifies Pip. The repetition of ‘young man’ reinforces the threat, thus compounding Pip’s fear. I believe that this evokes sympathy towards Pip because he is merely a gullible young boy who has no justification to refute Magwitch’s claims.

Readers may suspect that Magwitch is uneducated on account of his numerous grammatical errors and incorrect pronunciation of several lexical items. Dickens has intentionally misspelt certain phrases in order to demonstrate Magwitch’s erroneous delivery of words such as

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